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Bowser Jr. is the mischievous son of Bowser and the prince of the Koopas. He resembles his father's baby form, having beady eyes, a rounded snout with fewer contours, and hair tied in a small ponytail. He debuted in Super Mario Sunshine, where he painted over most of Isle Delfino with a magic paintbrush he received (or stole; this is never clarified upon) from Professor E. Gadd. The "paint" used was actually goop, which was very toxic, so much so that when spread over the Shine Gate, the sunlight over Isle Delfino depleted. Bowser Jr. committed his crimes disguised as Mario, tricking the denizens of Isle Delfino (known as Piantas) into thinking Mario was the culprit. In his disguise, Bowser Jr. was similar to Mario but had a higher-pitched voice and a gelatinous, dark blue body with glowing red eyes. The disguise was activated by a blue neckerchief with Mario's signature mustache drawn on it (in later games starting with Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour, Bowser Jr.'s neckerchief is white and has a drawing of a ferocious mouth instead). Bowser Jr. was also convinced by his father that Peach was his mother and that Mario had taken her from him, so he attempted numerous times to kidnap her (as well as always referring to her as "mama"); however, by the end of Super Mario Sunshine, Bowser Jr. already knew that Peach wasn't really his mother, but he still expressed his father's desire to fight Mario.

Later Mario games would explore more facets of Bowser Jr.'s character. In Super Mario Galaxy and subsequent games, Jr. has been shown to pilot large battle machines of various sorts, and his mechanical battle angles show through in his Super Smash Bros. moveset. Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam explored Jr.'s personality in further detail, showing that, while he may be a spoiled child and a cunning villain, he is ultimately a lonely Koopa who desires friends above anything else.

Bowser's son, who appears in Super Mario Sunshine calling Princess Peach his mother—he feels so strongly about her that he kidnaps her. Somewhat spoiled by his father, Bowser Jr. comes off as being on the selfish side. His bib is decorated with drawn-on fangs and worn like a mask—it's most likely an effort to appear more menacing.

Bowser Jr. was unofficially revealed as a playable character in SSB4 by a leak of the ESRB review video.[1] He was shown to fight in his Junior Clown Car, using boxing gloves to attack (inspired by his Clown Car in New Super Mario Bros. U, but the gloves protrude with metal extenders instead of being attached to arms). He can also drop Mechakoopas and fire cannonballs. The seven Koopalings also appear as alternate costumes for the character. His Final Smash has him briefly transform into his Shadow Mario form, which then swipes the screen with the Magic Brush, creating a large X, which hurts all opponents that it touches.

Currently, Bowser Jr. is placed 48th out of 55 on the tier list, placing him in the F tier. His Clown Kart Dash special gives him a fantastic approaching option thanks to its speed and usefulness in starting combos. He also comes with some powerful finishers that can potentially KO opponents below 100%. Although he's classed as a heavyweight, his aerial game is respectable thanks to his good air mobility and ability to juggle opponents with his aerials. Despite these strengths, Bowser Jr. is held back by notable flaws, such as a laggy grab, poor ground mobility, and his recovery in Abandon Ship! is predictable and open to gimps. Bowser Jr.'s weaknesses hold him back from leaving much impact on the competitive scene, having below average results in tournament, though he still has a few dedicated players.

Bowser's beloved, spoiled son sports a bandanna with a large mouth drawn on it. Like his father, Bowser Jr. longs to take Mario down. In Smash Bros., he'll fight from inside his heavily armed Junior Clown Car. The Clown Car takes less damage than Bowser Jr., so mind your positioning.

Bowser's probably a big fan of his son, what with him hating Mario just as much as dear old Dad does. The tyke's Junior Clown Car is packed with gadgets and gizmos to throw at enemies! By the way, he's extra vulnerable when he jumps out of it, but...you wouldn't dream of attacking the cute little fella then, would you?

: Super Mario Sunshine (08/2002)

: New Super Mario Bros. Wii (11/2009)

Bowser Jr. (Alt.)

The Clown Kart Dash special move turns the Junior Clown Car into a kart. If you change direction while driving it, it'll spin and do more damage. When you use his up special, Bowser Jr. leaps from his Junior Clown Car, dropping it on the foes below.

The Clown Kart Dash special move turns the Junior Clown Car into a kart. If you change direction while driving it, it'll spin and do more damage. When you use his up special, Bowser Jr. jumps out of the Junior Clown Car, letting it hit opponents. Try to catch opponents with it while you're directly over them to hit them on the head!